The Crow Cries Fool
by Mordred LeFay
Summary: All is well in Konoha. Naruto and Sakura get romantic, Shikamaru is sent on a mission to Suna, with the added bonus of getting closer to Temari. Then Sasuke returns, near death, claiming he's killed Orochimaru and all he wants is to come home.
1. Chapter 1 The Crow Cries

Author's note: Spoilers for anyone who isn't watching Shippuuden. "It didn't happen like that"s for anyone who's reading the manga. Enjoy!

The Crow Cries "Fool"

A Naruto fan-fic

Outside the window, a crow's harsh cry broke the stillness. Naruto opened his eyes. The sun was just creeping enough through the trees to let a little light into the dim room. Sakura's arm was heavy across his chest and her cheekbone dug into his shoulder. He shifted and she stirred slightly, though still asleep.

"Sasuke-kun," she slurred.

Naruto froze, a sudden ache clenching his heart. He sighed, "Sakura-chan." It had been going so well.

The night before, they went out to with Temari and Shikamaru to celebrate Naruto finally becoming a chuunin. "I had to come with him or stay in my room all night and starve," Temari claimed, biting a piece of meat off of her skewer.

Shikamaru groaned, "As if I enjoy dragging you around everywhere I go. It's a pain in the ass!"

Naruto and Sakura just rolled their eyes. Temari and Shikamaru were still vehemently denying any romantic interest in each other, but the chuunin examiner and the Sand ninja acted like they were required to go everywhere as though joined at the hip, though Tsunade only assigned Shikamaru as Temari's guide, not her guard. Temari had free access to the village and was familiar enough with it by now not to require a guide at all. But every time Temari was in Konoha, Shikamaru barely left her side.

"Don't fight; we're here to celebrate!" Sakura said. She raised her cup. "To Naruto," she declared.

Temari raised her own cup and nodded, still chewing. "The runt finally made chuunin," she said. "I thought I'd never see it."

"Come on, Temari," Shikamaru said, nudging her with his elbow. "Naruto would have made chuunin years ago if he attended the exams. He almost destroyed that kid." That kid had been one of Temari's students, and only the fact that he had given Naruto a good fight kept Temari from sulking about it.

Naruto grinned. "Too bad Gaara wasn't here to see it," he said. "Make sure to tell him I'm gaining on him," he told Temari. "I'm not done yet; I'm still—"

"Gonna be Hokage someday?" Shikamaru said wearily. "Tch, we know."

Naruto grinned self-consciously. "I guess I say that a lot, huh?"

"You guess?"

Sakura, who was cheerfully ignoring all of this, said to Naruto, "Could you pass me one of those skewers?"

"No way!" Naruto protested. "Those are mine!"

"Baka!" Sakura retorted, "I put those two down. Yours is the one on the end that's on fire."

"Aah!" Naruto yelled, yanking the skewer off of the grill and blowing at the flames to try and put them out. Temari snorted, and Shikamaru hid a smile behind his hand. "This is why I prefer ramen," Naruto said, gnawing on a blackened chunk of meat.

"You can't eat just ramen," Sakura said.

"It hasn't hurt me so far!" Naruto protested.

"Maybe if you ate a more balanced diet, you'd be stronger."

"I'm plenty strong already!"

Shikamaru and Temari shot each other a secret look. Temari yawned expansively. "I should go," she said. "I have to make an early start tomorrow to head back to Suna."

Shikamaru gave an exaggerated sigh. "I guess that means I have to go too, to walk you back to your lodgings." He slid out of the booth, putting down enough money to cover his meal and Temari's. "Have a good night!"

"What are you doing? I have money, you know," Temari protested, fishing for her purse.

Shikamaru waved her away. "It's a man's duty," he said.

Temari gave a tight smile, but her eyes flashed dangerously. "I'll get you next time, then," she promised, though it sounded more like a threat. She stood also and turned to Sakura and Naruto. "You two should come visit sometime. I'm sure Gaara would like to see you again. I'll be sure to share the good news with him, Naruto," Temari said.

"Thanks! Tell him to write to me when he gets a chance," Naruto said.

"Goodnight, Shikamaru! Have a safe journey, Temari!" Sakura said, waving. The pair left the restaurant, walking mere inches apart as they always did, but not touching.

"Those two," Sakura mused, tapping her empty skewer on the table lightly.

"Do you want more barbecue, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

Sakura groaned and leaned back against the seat. "I'm stuffed," she replied.

"Yeah, me too." He had his plump frog wallet out and was counting out bills. Sakura went for her purse. "I got it, don't worry," Naruto said.

Sakura smiled. "I thought for sure I'd have to pay my own way tonight," she said.

"The only reason I never treated you before is because Ero-Sennin kept 'borrowing' my money to spend on sake and women," Naruto explained.

"I can't believe you still have that froggie wallet," Sakura said. Naruto grinned and held it up. It wasn't quite as plump as it had been.

"Come on; I'll walk you home too," Naruto said, helping Sakura out of the booth.

They went outside. Sakura breathed in the cool night air. "It's such a nice night. I don't want to go straight home. Want to walk a bit first?" she suggested.

"Sure," Naruto agreed.

* * *

"Thank you for dinner," Temari said. They walked side-by-side, watching the shops begin to close up and the streets begin to clear out. "You really didn't have to pay for me."

"It's no big deal," Shikamaru said with a shrug. "It's the least I could do to make up for dragging you out of your room and making you watch Naruto eat for half an hour."

Temari laughed. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile. When they first met as enemies, she had been so serious, always scowling. Temari was a lot prettier when she smiled, Shikamaru thought. Not too many people got to see it, though.

He came to a stop, and Temari gasped as she too froze in her tracks. "Sorry, we almost walked past your door," Shikamaru said. He released his shadow bind; it was a weak one, in the dim light of the lanterns, and Temari could have broken it if she tried. She hadn't even noticed it until he stopped.

"I didn't know you could pull that off in such dim light," Temari said. This street was deserted, lit only by a single lamp that was several yards away. They were out of its circle of light.

"You've always underestimated me."

"Not true. You always end up impressing me, so I expect more each time." Temari pointed a finger in Shikamaru's face. "You have to stop dawdling and become a jounin already!"

"Women," Shikamaru muttered. "More trouble than they're worth. I shouldn't even have made chuunin. I haven't had time to relax and watch clouds ever since, between my job and leading _you_ around," he grumbled.

"Well," Temari said coolly, "tomorrow I'll be gone and out of your way for another six months. Goodnight."

"Wait," Shikamaru said softly. "Temari, I was just kidding…"

She paid him no mind and reached behind herself to open the door, but her arm wouldn't move.

The corner of Shikamaru's mouth curled upward. "Kage Mane no Jutsu, success," he said.

"You lazy ass. You'll overuse your technique rather than touch me?" Temari teased.

Shikamaru shook his head, still smiling in a self-satisfied sort of way. "Temari," he whispered, "if you knew how much I want to touch you…"He leaned in. Temari leaned in, closing her eyes. Shikamaru stopped just short, just far enough apart that Temari could feel his breath on her lips, but couldn't reach him.

"Damn you," she breathed, struggling to bridge the gap.

"How long could I keep you like this," he whispered back, "before you started to beg?"

Temari's eyes flashed. Before she could get properly angry, Shikamaru leaned forward just enough for their lips to meet. Temari made a noise of surprise that turned into a soft, almost inaudible moan.

As Shikamaru's fingertips brushed the soft skin of Temari's cheek, he felt her fingertips brush his cheek, mirroring his movements. It was strangely exciting to use the Kage Mane this way, when before he had only used it in combat. _I could make her do anything_, he thought. He was ashamed of the thought as soon as it flashed through his brain. It would be a terrible power to fall into the wrong hands.

Shikamaru pulled back, breathing fast. "I dropped the technique. You can slap me now," he said. He looked satisfied with himself. Temari leaned back against the door, her hand to her mouth.

"You always have some hidden trick," she said.

"I need some way to keep impressing you." Shikamaru leaned back, hands in his pockets. "Are you going to slap me? Or are you going to invite me in?" he suggested, voice husky.

She laid a hand on the back of his neck and pulled him closer, their cheeks brushing. "How many times can I leave you hanging," she murmured into his ear, "before you start to beg?" She slid her tongue along his earlobe and he shivered. "Goodnight, Shikamaru," she whispered. Then she disappeared into her room, flashing him a sultry look before shutting the door in his face.

Shikamaru sighed. So she was going to send him home with blue balls, eh? He adjusted himself with a grunt. Women. They were all so… His legs were a bit unsteady as he started to walk back home, deep in thought. What amazed him was that Temari hadn't fought him at all. That spoke volumes; she was not a trusting person by nature, and hated to be out of control of any situation. That she trusted him enough to give herself up to his control, when the bind was so weak that she could have broken it at any time, excited him further.

There was a couple on the footbridge ahead. Shikamaru stopped, cocking his head to one side. It was Naruto and Sakura, he realized. He turned to take another route to avoid disturbing them and continued on, shaking his head and smiling. "I hope you have better luck than me, Naruto," he said to himself.

* * *

Sakura slowed to a stop on the footbridge and leaned over the railing to look at the stars reflected in the water. Naruto came over to lean beside her. They looked at each other and smiled, then looked away.

"I'm really proud of you, you know," Sakura said suddenly.

Naruto blushed. It meant a lot, coming from her. "Thanks, Sakura-chan. I felt like a loser being so far behind everyone."

"Well you had a reason. You were training with Jiraya-sama."

Naruto snorted. "It's lucky all his training doesn't involve getting pushed off a cliff," he said.

Sakura looked puzzled. "When did he push you off a cliff?"

"Remember when I tried to kiss you and you beat me up?"

"Yeah."

"Ero-Sennin put me up to it."

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "What for? His 'research'?"

"No. He pushed me off a cliff to see if it would make me call on Kyuubi's chakra to save myself."

"So what does that have to do with kissing me?"

"It was one of the things I wanted to do before I died."

Sakura's mouth gaped. "Naruto…"

"He didn't tell me what he had in mind, but he said it might kill me, so I had better go do anything I wanted to do before I died." He chuckled. "It's funny: all the times I've almost died and I've never gotten to…" he trailed off.

"Naruto," Sakura stammered, flustered, "I didn't realize. I… I thought you were just being an idiot."

Naruto looked at her. "I love you, Sakura. That's why it's so bad that I never brought Sasuke back, after I promised you. I failed. I let you down." He sank down until his chin was buried in his folded arms, resting on the railing. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Naruto," Sakura said, reaching out. She cupped his cheek in her palm. "How many times do I have to forgive you before you stop apologizing?" she asked. Naruto managed a small smile and took her hand. Straightening up, he pulled Sakura into his arms and held her tightly.

"Thank you," he whispered. "But I told you I don't go back on my word. I'd do anything—"

Sakura stopped his words with a kiss. It took Naruto so off-guard that it was a few seconds before he began to return it. His heart seemed like it would burst from his chest with happiness. He could hear Sakura's breathing quicken, taste her cherry lip gloss. Her arms were around his neck, her fingers tangled in his hair.

They pulled back and gazed at each other through half-closed eyes, their lips a breath apart. "Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered.

* * *

Was she dreaming she was in Sasuke's arms? Did she pretend, last night, that Naruto was him? She was quiet now, her mouth slightly open, laying on her back. What would she say when she woke up? Would she feel the same, or would she make her excuses and run from her mistake?

Naruto edged away from her and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He still had the photo on the bedside table, the one of the three of them with Kakashi. He and Sasuke glared at each other while Sakura and Kakashi beamed at the camera.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. They should have all been together. By now, Orochimaru would have taken over Sasuke's body, and Sasuke as they knew him was dead. Naruto still held out hope that Sasuke had escaped, realizing that Orochimaru didn't care if he succeeded in killing Itachi, that he just wanted to use his body as his newest vessel. But even if he escaped, even if he killed Itachi, would he come back? And would it be as a friend, or an enemy?

"What are you thinking about?" Sakura said, startling Naruto. He looked over his shoulder; she was up on one elbow, yawning.

"Good morning," he said, giving her a wan smile.

Sakura collapsed back onto the pillow. "I was having strange dreams," she said, rubbing her hands over her eyes.

Naruto looked away. "Sasuke," he said darkly.

"Was I talking in my sleep?"

"A little. What was it about?"

"I don't know. It was all so confused." Sakura sat up and leaned against Naruto's back. The warm pressure reassured him. "I enjoyed last night," she said, her breath on his ear making his spine tingle. Her arms went around him, her palms against his chest.

"Me too," Naruto said, allowing himself a real smile this time. He lay his hands atop hers. She snuggled in sleepily, as though she did this every day. They watched the light grow outside the window. "I should go see Granny Tsunade today and see if she'll give me a decent mission now that I made chuunin."

"I have to meet with her too. Later though," Sakura purred, her hands slipping from beneath Naruto's and sliding down his stomach.

"Sakura-chan!" he sputtered, half-turning his head to give her an amazed look. She replied with a sultry smile. Naruto leaned his head back against her shoulder and closed his eyes. Her breasts were pressed into his back. _How the hell did I get so lucky?_ he thought.

"Tsunade can wait," Sakura said as she pulled Naruto back on the bed.

* * *

Shikamaru yawned and watched the first glow of sunlight bathe the rooftops of Konoha. It was earlier than he ever wanted to be awake, but Temari had said she wanted to be on her way early. He was still replaying last night in his head. Shikamaru realized he didn't want to see her go, knowing it would be months before he saw her again. Maybe he could convince her to grab some breakfast at the teahouse on her way out.

The door opened. "You get up way too early," Shikamaru said playfully. "I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow, knowing you're out of my hair—eh?" It wasn't Temari, but a maid emerging from the room with a bundle of linen.

"Temari-sama left before sunrise this morning," she explained. Shikamaru's mood darkened. She'd slipped away without even saying goodbye. "Are you Nara Shikamaru?"

"Uh, yeah," Shikamaru said, trying to play it off.

"This was left here, addressed to you," the maid said, handing over a small, tightly-wrapped scroll before toting the laundry away.

Shikamaru leaned back against the wall and unrolled the scroll:

_Shikamaru,_

_Sorry to leave so suddenly, but I didn't want to inconvenience you by making you get up so early, and I wanted to start out as soon as possible. I figured last night's goodbye was sufficient. I have a lot of work to do in the next six months before the next chuunin exam, so I won't be back in Konoha until then. Maybe the Hokage will allow you to come to Suna as a guest instructor; it's an idea Gaara had recently. I suppose I'll have to be your guide while you're here._

_Remember what I said. You'll have plenty of time to gaze at the clouds when you retire._

_-Temari_

Shikamaru was annoyed, but impressed. She knew he was going to get up at dawn to catch her, so she got up even earlier. Thinking five steps ahead… Perhaps he would have a chat with the Fifth, if Temari hadn't already.

His stomach growled; well, at least he could stop by the dango shop and have some tea before going back to bed. He tucked the scroll into one of his vest pockets. No… maybe he could hit the practice field instead, get a little training in before going to the Hokage for another mission. The thought caught him off guard. What was Temari doing to him? "Hurry up and become a jounin," she said. Well, no woman was going to order him around.

Still, it couldn't hurt.

* * *

Sakura met Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen at noontime. "Tsunade-sama let me have the afternoon off," she told him as she sat down, "as long as I find Shikamaru after lunch and send him to her."

"Why's that?" Naruto asked, absently tapping his package of chopsticks against the counter.

"I dunno. I guess she has a mission for him or something," Sakura said.

Teuchi passed Naruto a steaming bowl of ramen. "Itadakimasu!" Naruto declared and dug in.

"You didn't even wait for me?" Sakura said in a wounded tone.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry; I was helping Konohamaru train and I got hungry."

"Well," Sakura said, "I guess I should be glad you don't already have a pile of bowls next to you."

Teuchi leaned on the counter. "What can I get you, Sakura?" he asked.

Sakura smiled. "I'll just have your diet ramen," she said.

Naruto frowned. "Sakura-chan, you should eat some real food!"

"It's real food!"

"How are you going to have any energy to spar with me?"

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "You want to spar?"

"You said you have the afternoon off, right? Did you already make other plans?"

She gave him a wicked look. "Are you sure? Haven't I beaten you up enough for one lifetime? Besides, you saw what I could do to solid rock."

Naruto gulped. He laughed nervously, then said, with false bravado, "You're just afraid of my new technique—"

"What new technique?"

"You'll have to see it," he said, then turned his attention back to his meal.

"Tomorrow, then," Sakura said.

"Tomorrow?" Naruto exclaimed. "You said you have this afternoon off!"

"Baka, why would I want to spend a free afternoon training?" Sakura pulled her chopsticks apart as Ayame set her ramen down. "Itadakimasu," she said and began eating.

Naruto was puzzled. "Well then, what do you want to do?"

Sakura smiled slyly and gave him a look. Naruto blushed. "Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed, and giggled nervously, a huge grin on his face.

* * *

Shikamaru stepped into the Hokage's office and closed the door. Tsunade hurriedly slammed a desk drawer shut and sat nonchalantly, hands folded, and squinted at her paperwork as though she had been reading it all along. "Shikamaru," she said, looking up as though she had just noticed him.

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru said. Tsunade's face was flushed; she had obviously been in the sake again. At least she waited until after noon nowadays.

"Yes, have a seat," Tsunade offered. As Shikamaru came forward to sit down, he noticed that the top paper on the pile was actually the page from the newspaper listing the winning lottery numbers. He raised an eyebrow at the Hokage. She returned the look with a steely gaze of her own.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "The Sand has requested we send someone to evaluate their training program for shinobi and make suggestions for improvement. You have served as liaison between Konoha and Suna, and you have a fine analytical mind. I'm sure you're up to the task."

"Hokage-sama, I've really just started as an examiner. There are many more experienced shinobi, curriculum specialists, even trainers. Why me?" Shikamaru asked.

"The Sand isn't used to having true allies, you know, people they can trust. Over the years their alliances have been tentative non-aggression pacts, but there wasn't any real trust there. It doesn't help that we were at war with them in the past." Tsunade's gaze turned inward for a moment before she continued. "I don't want to send them a stranger; either they won't work with him or her, or they will hold back information. I want an honest, thorough report. Besides," Tsunade's stern expression softened into a tiny smile, "Temari recommended you specifically," she explained.

Shikamaru was preoccupied all the way home. Temari asked for him… of course that probably just meant that she trusted him, because they had worked together in the past. But still… it was obvious she wanted to see him again. Before she even left, she was making sure their time apart was short. _That woman can outplan me,_ he thought to himself. He chuckled. _She probably has names picked out for the children already_. Shikamaru pushed _that_ thought away.

He had spent the last month going on missions and training in between, working harder than he ever remembered working, even for his own chuunin exam. His parents were amazed. He overheard his mother say to his father one night, "I didn't like Shikamaru hanging out with that girl from Suna, but she's had such a positive effect on him."  
His father chuckled. "It's the age he's at. All the males start putting on their mating displays." There was a low, suggestive chuckle. "Remember when we were that young?"

Shikamaru's mother giggled, and he hurried away, not wanting to hear details.

Temari had pushed him from his comfort zone. There's no doubt he wouldn't have gone so far without her. It started before they even knew each other; first in the chuunin exam, because he didn't want to lose to a girl, and again when she nudged him to train harder, to become a jounin. He recalled what she said about expecting more of him. Wasn't it true that he had ramped up his efforts before this chuunin exam because he knew she was coming to Konoha for it, and he wanted to show her something new? He had spent so many nights with just a lamp or even the full moon, pushing his Kage Mane no Jutsu to its limit. Those nights he'd use up so much chakra that he could barely make it to bed before collapsing into a sleep so deep that he couldn't remember dreaming.

How far was he willing to go for her?

It occurred to him that might be what Temari was trying to find out.

"You're late, Shikamaru," his mother scolded when he got home. "The rice is almost cold."

It looked to him like it was still steaming, but a lifetime of his mother's temper told him not to argue. Shikamaru's father rolled his eyes, though only when his wife's back was turned.

"I'm sorry," Shikamaru said. "The Fifth had a mission for me." He sat down beside his father. They exchanged an exasperated look. Shikamaru often wondered why his dad married such a scary woman, but when he asked him about it once, his father just shrugged and said, "She's nice sometimes…" The whole story was probably in the conversation Shikamaru had heard part of.

"What's the mission?" his father asked.

Shikamaru shoveled rice into his mouth. "I have to go to Suna and report on the Sand's training program. I leave tomorrow."

"For how long?" his mother asked, pushing some steamed vegetables onto his plate.

"As long as I need, she said."

His mother sighed. "We're going to lose you to the Sand," she said wistfully.

"I never thought I'd see you chase a woman, Shikamaru," his father said with a knowing smile.

"It's a _mission_," Shikamaru muttered in annoyance. His face was getting hot.

"And we're sure you'll do an excellent job," his mother said, shooting her husband a withering look. "Eat up!" she urged Shikamaru, who had been doing so anyway. "You're going to need energy for the journey. It's at least three days to Suna, right hon?" she asked her husband.

"Over burning sand, choking heat, dry desert," Shikamaru's father said. He gave Shikamaru a sideways glance and said under his breath, "I hope she's worth it, son."

That night, Shikamaru lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling and unable to sleep. It was always like this before a mission or a trip, and it drove him nuts. He'd done plenty of things to try and exhaust himself. He was already packed. He'd mentally reviewed the various routes that would get him to Suna quickest. He even tried to read a bit, but couldn't keep his mind on it.

Temari wouldn't have reached home yet. She had a day's start on him, but maybe he could catch up. Wouldn't that surprise her.

Shikamaru threw off the covers and got up. He pulled on his clothes, slung on his pack, and padded down the hall with his shoes in his hand. In the kitchen, he scrawled a quick note to his parents to let them know he'd left early. The scroll with Tsunade's orders on it was secure in one of his vest pockets. He went out the door, closing it carefully behind him.

The night air felt cool and damp on Shikamaru's face. He savored it, knowing he'd be in the scorching, dry heat for long enough. He set out.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura faced each other unsteadily, panting as they swayed, struggling to hold their stances. Naruto's chakra wasn't spent yet, but his body almost was, and he could tell that Sakura was almost done. Neither wanted to admit the other had won their sparring match.

He started forward with a roar. Sakura braced herself. Suddenly, Naruto went sprawling, his foot having caught on a broken chunk of heaved-up earth. He hit the ground hard, knocking the breath from his lungs.

"Are you… okay?" Sakura gasped, bending forward with her hands braced on her knees.

Naruto struggled to regain his breath. Finally he rasped, "I give up!"

Sakura let her legs go to jelly and fell to her knees, slumping over until she too was face-down in the dirt. After a few minutes they had found enough energy to roll onto their backs, and lay cheek to cheek.

Sakura reached up and curled her arm around Naruto's head. He winced at the pressure of her elbow on his shoulder; she had managed to land one of her powerful blows, and the only thing that had saved Naruto from a broken collarbone were his speedy healing ability and the fact that Sakura had been holding back.

"Sorry," she panted. "I guess… I got you."

"You're getting… as scary… as Granny Tsunade," Naruto laughed breathlessly.

They lay there for a while, catching their breath. Sakura yawned. "I'm exhausted," she murmured. Her eyelids began to droop. Naruto nuzzled her cheek, and she gave a little hum of pleasure.

"Sakura-chan," he whispered.

"Hmm?"

"That night… what made you decide to kiss me?"

Sakura was quiet for a moment, considering. "It didn't happen all at once, really," she said finally. "We've been through so much together. When we were rescuing Gaara and I found out that the Akatsuki were after you too, and Chiyo told us what they intended to do, I wasn't worried about Gaara. I was worried about you. I tried to tell you—"

"I know—"

"—But you ran right in. You weren't concerned for yourself."

Naruto nodded. "I wanted to save my friend."

"And after you came back from going after Sasuke… he almost killed you, and all you did was apologize to me." Sakura looked at Naruto sadly. "I should have apologized to _you_!"

Naruto shook his head. "Sakura-chan…"

"It's just so amazing. You're always willing to risk yourself for others. And the other night, when you told me you love me…" Sakura smiled. "I realized I felt the same." She reached over to stroke Naruto's cheek. He smiled.

"It's like a dream, Sakura. I just can't believe this is real."

"Believe it," Sakura said. She moved to kiss him.

"Hey, you two!" Kakashi shouted from the other end of the training ground, startling them apart. "What are you lying around daydreaming for?" He walked over and stood over them, his expression deadpan.

"We've been sparring, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said.

Kakashi surveyed the nearly destroyed training field as though he was seeing it for the first time. Sakura's powerful blows had broken and tossed up the ground, and every log and dummy seemed to have been Rasenganed into splinters. "Oh, you should rest up then," Kakashi said. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled beneath his mask.

Naruto stood and helped Sakura to her feet, groaning at muscles already beginning to stiffen. "Don't forget to stretch before you go to bed or you'll be useless tomorrow," Kakashi advised.

"I could use a shower," Naruto grumbled as they staggered away, leaning on each other.

"Me too," Sakura said meaningfully. Naruto chuckled and grabbed her ass. Sakura shrieked and slapped his hand away.

Kakashi watched them go. "Something is going on between those two," he said to himself. Over the last few days, he had seen them in each other's company quite frequently. Yesterday he went to see Naruto, and found the door locked and his knocks going unanswered. Naruto never locked his door.

Kakashi shrugged and cast a quick glance around. Seeing no one, he sat with his back against a log that was still mostly intact and pulled a worn, dog-eared copy of _Make-Out Tactics_ from his pocket. He sighed; it was a shame that it would probably be another few years before Jiraya came out with another novel. He had this one practically memorized already.


	2. Chapter 2  The Flower of Suna

Shikamaru had made good time, even with the rest breaks he took to keep his stamina up, but the heat and sun were unrelenting. That, and walking through the shifting, sliding sand was like taking a step back for every two steps forward. His calves ached, and he felt burned and scoured all over, as the sand had somehow worked its way into places Shikamaru had thought would be safe from it. He'd stopped to rest when the sun was at its zenith, and now it was in its descent, not that he could tell the difference in the level of heat or the glare off the sand.

And this goddamned endless wind! Sand crunched in his teeth, stung his eyes, itched his scalp and coated his skin with a fine grit. It was a hot wind, too, not giving any relief from the heat. It seemed to be picking up, a moaning howl filling the air. Shikamaru froze. He couldn't see the horizon; ahead was a whirling cloud of dust, closing fast.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. "Sandstorm!" He looked around for somewhere he could take shelter, but everything was flat sand as far as he could see. "Think, think, think!" he berated himself. He could dig a ditch… and get buried in sand. He cursed vehemently, squinting at the impending disaster before him.

"Shikamaru!" came a shout, and a hand clamped around his wrist. "Come on!" It was Temari. She dragged him along as she ran; he ran after, the sand blinding him. His only connection to the world was Temari's iron-strong grip. Where was she going? All around them was shifting sand. Then they hit a downward slope, and Shikamaru almost fell as his feet slid beneath him. With a yank, Temari threw him into a cave that was little more than a hole in the side of the hill, then dove after him.

Shikamaru landed hard, but was unhurt. He gasped for breath as Temari dragged herself further in, away from the opening. The moan of the wind became a piercing whine, and outside the cave was a moving wall of sand. But it stayed outside.

"And that," Temari said, "is why they call this the Wind Country." She looked back at Shikamaru. "You caught up."

He nodded, unable to speak.

"You're lucky you did; you might have been buried or suffocated out there," Temari said. She settled herself, and removed her pack.

"How long do these last?" Shikamaru asked, when he had his breath back.

"They can last for days," Temari answered as she shook sand out of her clothes.

Shikamaru goggled. "Days?"

"I don't think this one will, but you never know."

"Thanks for saving me," Shikamaru said. "How did you know this cave was here?"

"I know this desert. You have to, or you'll never survive." Temari leaned back against the wall. "We might as well take this opportunity to rest."

Shikamaru was impressed. Temari acted like dodging sandstorms was just another normal, daily occurrence. Even now she was calm, whereas Shikamaru could still feel his muscles twitching. He clasped his hands together around his knees, not wanting her to see how they were shaking.

"You all right over there, crybaby?" Temari teased.

"I'm fine!" Shikamaru insisted. "I'm just tired. Jeez, this sandbox you live in is a pain in the ass."

"It's not for everyone. You have to be stronger, quicker, and smarter to survive here," Temari said. She rummaged in her pack. "Do you have food?"

"Yeah, traveling provisions."

"Might as well have a bite, then," Temari said. Shikamaru's stomach was starting to rumble; he had been too preoccupied to notice. Traveling in the desert had taken a lot out of him. He drank some water and felt the dryness and dust leave his throat. It was easier to breathe again. Outside, the sand still whipped past. They ate in silence.

It began to grow darker, and colder. At first it was a relief, but soon Shikamaru found himself shivering. "Why is it so cold?" he asked.

Temari was shaking out a blanket. "It's like that in the desert. It gets really cold at night. Come here."

Shikamaru balked. "Why?"

Temari gave him an exasperated look. "Body heat, of course. I'd say you're welcome to freeze, but then _I'd_ freeze, and I'd prefer not to." She smirked at him. "So now you're being shy, eh?" She lay down with her back to him, using her pack as a pillow, and pulled the blanket up around herself. "Suit yourself."

Shikamaru scooted over, dragging his pack and blanket with him. He was about to curl up against her, then thought better of it and lay back-to-back. The air beneath the blankets began to warm up almost immediately. He sighed. It felt good to lie still. His muscles were crying out, and he felt so tired that it hurt.

He had wondered what it would be like to sleep beside a girl. So far it wasn't anything interesting. Actually, it was kind of awkward. He was almost afraid to touch her, partly because he really, really wanted to. _Just pretend she's a pillow or something_, he told himself as he began to drift.

Sometime in the night Shikamaru woke up to find that he and Temari had shifted positions in their sleep. She was lying half on top of him with her head on his chest, arm curled around his waist, and one leg overlapping his; his arms were wrapped snugly around her. He could feel her heart beating. He brushed a few stray hairs out of Temari's face, and she sighed contentedly in her sleep.

So this was what it felt like.

Shikamaru wondered what Temari would think if she woke up. He thought he should probably disentangle himself, but he didn't want to. Besides, he could feel the cold outside the barrier of the blankets, waiting to invade, the same way he would bundle himself under his covers on a cold winter night and feel the chill on his face while the rest of his body stayed toasty. And if he moved, he might wake Temari. Instead, he closed his eyes and counted her heartbeats until he fell back asleep.

* * *

Temari woke before dawn to find the sandstorm was over. The sky was indigo paling to violet, and while the cave was still cool, she knew that in as little as an hour the temperature would climb.

She also found that Shikamaru's breathing was tickling her neck. One arm was curled around her head, the other around her waist. "Shikamaru," she said. "Wake up."

"Hmm?" he mumbled, still asleep. He nuzzled his face into the curve between her neck and shoulder. Temari sighed in contentment. Right now sleeping in the dirt was cozier than her empty bed in the palace had ever been. But the ninja in her was nagging that the best part of the day for traveling was slipping by while she gave in to weak, womanly emotions.

"We should go," she said. Shikamaru answered with a faint snore.

Temari grew impatient. "We don't have time to cuddle, lazybones," she hissed. "I think we can make it to Suna today but we have to leave. Now." She gave his arm a sharp pinch.

Shikamaru peered out of half-closed eyes. "Whuzzuh?" His eyes widened and he jerked away and sat up. "C-cuddle? I wasn't—I mean I was just sleeping." He chuckled nervously.

"Mmhmm," Temari replied with a knowing look.

"What about breakfast?" he asked with a yawn.

"We can eat it on the way," Temari said, rolling up her blanket. Shikamaru followed suit, his face burning with more than the rising heat. Damn, but she could be businesslike when she wanted to. How could a desert-dwelling girl be so chilly?

Packs on, they exited the cave. The desert was so calm and still that Shikamaru could hardly believe that it had been torn through by a sandstorm just yesterday. He expected cataclysmic upheaval, expected the sand to be gouged by the fierce wind. But it looked exactly the same, like a blanket that had been tossed up into the air and settled back on the bed, perfectly smooth.

"Come on," Temari urged. "I'm sure you don't want to spend another night out here when you can be sleeping in a bed in the Kazekage's palace."

_If it was like last night, I wouldn't mind sleeping out here every night,_ Shikamaru thought to himself as he followed her.

* * *

"You didn't have to escort her the entire way home, you know," Kankurou said with a smirk as he greeted the pair at the village entrance.

"He didn't. He caught up to me, and I saved him from a sandstorm," Temari said.

"You do love saving him when he's in over his head," Kankurou teased.

"Be nice," Temari said. "He's here to evaluate us."

Kankurou's brows knitted together. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm on a mission," Shikamaru said, and offered Kankurou the scroll with his orders on it. Tsunade had given it to him with instructions to present it if questioned as to his presence in Suna.

Gaara was suddenly there, though none of them had noticed his approach. He took the scroll before Kankurou could grab it, and snapped it open. "I requested an envoy from Konoha to evaluate our training program and make suggestions," Gaara told his brother. "Our students are doing well, but while I was watching this last exam it seemed like Konoha was still doing better than us." He rolled the scroll up and gave it back to Shikamaru. "Temari," he said, turning to his sister, "I know this is short notice, but you are to be Shikamaru's guide during his stay in Suna."

"Yes, Gaara," Temari said, as though she had been expecting this.

Gaara looked at Shikamaru, and Shikamaru froze as though caught in a Kage Mane no Jutsu himself. Those pale green eyes always seemed to pierce the very soul. "You will be staying in the guest quarters of the Kazekage's palace. Also, you'll eat dinner with us tonight." Gaara sure knew how to get to a point. No formal orders masquerading as requests, no flowery language.

"I'd be honored," Shikamaru said.

"Good." Gaara's attention left Shikamaru and returned to Kankurou. "Let's go. I want to talk to you." They departed, leaving Shikamaru and Temari behind.

Temari turned to him. "Would you like to tour our classrooms and training grounds first, or would you like to get settled?"

Shikamaru scratched his head, scowling. "Can I have a bath or something?"

Temari gave a short bark of a laugh. "We don't have huge hot springs like the Hidden Leaf, so you'll have to make do with a regular tub in your room."

"I'd make do with a bucket at this point," Shikamaru muttered.

"That's what some people have to do," Temari told him. "It's a luxury of living in the palace that we even get to immerse ourselves." She began to walk, and Shikamaru followed.

"No wonder you three hit the hot springs every time you come to Konoha," Shikamaru said.

Temari nodded. "It's very relaxing after the long trip to get there. I wish I could offer you the same here."

"It's okay. Just getting here is a relief."

They walked down the main street, Shikamaru keeping pace beside Temari. He sized the place up as they made their way to the center of the village. He had never been to Suna, though he heard Naruto and Sakura talk about it. It was definitely no Konoha. There didn't seem to be much in the way of plant life, for one.

"There's not as much water here as in your pretty, green country," Temari said, as though reading his mind.

"I'll keep that in mind when I'm filling the tub," Shikamaru answered. He looked at her sideways. "Maybe you could supervise."

Temari snorted. "If you can't fill a tub on your own at your age, I'll have to have a talk with your mother."

"Already threatening to talk to my mother, eh?" Shikamaru bantered back. He reached out to grab her hand, but she snatched it back, suddenly austere again. Shikamaru's face burned. He turned his attention back to his surroundings, and that's when he saw what must have made Temari close up again. An older man, sweeping sand off of his front step, was glaring at him, probably scandalized that a foreign ninja was behaving so familiarly with the Kazekage's sister.

The old man wasn't the only one looking at the Konoha leaf plate on his arm, some with curiosity, some with open hatred. The latter came mostly from the older folks, those who remembered the Leaf as an enemy, not an ally. It didn't seem to matter that it had been Konoha shinobi who went so far to rescue the kidnapped Kazekage, while many of his own subjects had wanted to immediately declare him dead and choose his replacement so as not to appear leaderless and weak to their enemies.

The people here seemed more serious, and carried themselves with military discipline. This was a village more familiar with war and slower to trust. Not like his pretty, green country indeed.

Temari showed Shikamaru to his quarters, and the bath, which was round and freestanding, unlike the ones at home. It looked more like a huge cauldron. "Go ahead and get settled. I'll have one of the servants get you when it's time for dinner. We'll begin everything tomorrow." She scratched at her scalp. "I could use a bath myself."

Shikamaru cast a glance around the room. "Is mine big enough for two?" he asked. Temari just laughed and shut the door behind her as she left.

"Women," he sighed, and began to unpack.

* * *

For three weeks, Shikamaru observed the training methods Gaara and his siblings had developed based on those of Konoha. He was impressed. The Sand's program was smaller in scale due to the Wind Country's daimyo limiting the number of shinobi the Sand was allowed. The students were older, but they were quick studies. Training for the Sand shinobi had traditionally been more militaristic, turning out ninja who were more like troops than special agents. A few talented elite like Gaara and his siblings rose above the rest, usually through the efforts of private tutors or their parents.

The emotional training was more extensive and strict (a difference Shikamaru had noticed right away in his first dealings with the Sand siblings) and yet it seemed unneeded; living here had hardened these kids already. It seemed to Shikamaru that wind-borne sand had pumiced away their softness. They never complained, never got visibly frustrated, and never disobeyed orders. He wondered how Naruto would have done here.

"You need more trainers," Shikamaru said to Temari as they watched Kankurou and Gaara spar with their students. "There are too many students here for just the three of you."

"Are you volunteering?" she countered. Shikamaru looked askance. Temari had been consistently professional around him since they arrived. He had expected at least a stolen kiss or two, or at least more warmth after their closeness in the cave, not this antagonism that was somewhat different from their usual banter. Had she reconsidered her feelings, or would he have to wait until they parted to find out?

Perhaps Konoha was the only place she would show him any softness. He expected Temari to feel more comfortable in her own village. But here her family and her people were watching, the same people who glared at his armband. Here she was the Kazekage's sister, daughter to the former Kazekage, a leader and an example to her people.

Shikamaru was thinking, his fingertips together, fingers curled to form an O. It was his concentration stance. "Temari," he said suddenly, "the daimyo only allows a certain number of shinobi, right?"

"Right."

"Does that number include anyone ninja-trained, or just active ninja?"

Temari paused. "I don't know," she admitted.

"Maybe you could increase your turnover rate, keep your ranks fresh, by giving incentives to older shinobi who retire, perhaps sooner than they usually would. Then you could increase the number of younger ones. And if you could recruit some of them to be instructors but only active in that way… perhaps you could get around the quota," Shikamaru said.

Temari looked thoughtful. It was a good plan, but a precarious one. It depended on the daimyo letting certain things slide. "Put that one in your report," she said. "I'm sure Gaara will consider it."

Shikamaru smiled; he knew he had impressed her. He went for the trump. "And in wartime, when things get desperate, I'm sure the daimyo overlooks extra reinforcements, right? When the older folks who are still able come out of retirement?" Temari looked at him in amazement. "You could follow the quota and increase your reserves, so when you really need all your strength, your full power, you'd have it."

"It's quite a plan," Temari said. Shikamaru smiled his satisfaction and returned his attention to the training.

"Why does Gaara only have one student?" he asked. Gaara was sparring with a girl, using sand to block her swings of what looked like a chain with weighted ends.

"We let them choose who they wanted to train with," Temari explained. "Matsuri is the only one who chose Gaara. Brave girl, though she didn't seem so at first. She struck me as weak and timid, but he seems to have improved her some."

Shikamaru shook his head. "In Konoha, the Hokage chooses teams with members whose abilities compliment each other, and a sensei who can teach to their learning styles."

"We don't have that luxury," Temari said, her voice hard.

"At least give Gaara more students. You and Kankurou are overwhelmed—"

"Gaara didn't want to force anyone to learn under him," Temari cut in. Her eyes were fixed on her brother. "A lot of people are still afraid of him, you know."

"Even though Shukaku—"

"Hsst! Be quiet about that," Temari hissed desperately, her eyes pleading.

"They don't know?" Shikamaru whispered, surprised. The Akatsuki had succeeded in removing the demon from Gaara's body, killing him, and the old lady Chiyo revived him.

"Of course they don't," Temari whispered fiercely. She leaned in closer, breathing her words voicelessly into Shikamaru's ear. "Gaara can still control the sand. He can put on enough of a display that no one questions it. But the sand no longer protects him automatically, without him thinking about it."

"So if an assassin knew, then they could murder him as easily as anyone else," Shikamaru realized.

"Not only that, but the only reason none of our enemies dare attack is because they know our Kazekage has the power of Shukaku and would obliterate them. That's why no one must know," she insisted. "The only thing that stops even enemies in Suna from killing Gaara is their belief that the sand protects him and he is invincible." Temari closed her eyes. "Only a handful of people know the truth, including your friends in Konoha."

"I won't tell anyone," Shikamaru promised.

"Thank you," Temari said, somewhat relieved. She was still standing very close. Shikamaru had the urge to put his arm around her, to comfort her, but he knew she would probably snap at him that she didn't need his pity or comfort. She wasn't some weak girl who would fall into his arms and weep.

"Well," Shikamaru said finally, "I'll let you get back to your students. I have to write up a status report for the Fifth." He turned to go.

The corner of Temari's mouth turned up ever so slightly. "Are you sure you can find the way without me leading you?" she asked.

Shikamaru smirked. "Tch. Unlike you, I don't need an escort everywhere I go in a strange village."

Temari snorted and turned her back to him. Shikamaru headed back toward the Kazekage's palace.

He had never seen Temari look scared before. She despised weakness, in others and herself, and was always pushing herself harder than she should. _Totally the opposite of me_, Shikamaru thought. Perhaps his laziness was the byproduct of living a peaceful life in Konoha. Temari couldn't afford to lay back and watch clouds.

He pushed himself when he had to, of course, but he knew his limitations. He could recognize when the time came to pull back, when going any further would be dangerous. He did it during the chuunin exam. Temari was like Naruto; she'd charge ahead until she collapsed.

She had a lot of strength. That was part of why he liked her. A lot of the other girls had grown in recent years (Sakura, for one outstanding example), but for so long they had seemed so petty and weak and, quite frankly, useless. It seemed Temari had always been capable.

Shikamaru was back in his room before he realized it. He had been daydreaming so much that he practically sleepwalked back. He shook his head vigorously. It must have been a sign that he felt safe here, but it was a habit he had to rid himself of. Temari would scold him up and down about inattention leaving him open to attack one day.

He sighed and pulled out an empty scroll. "Time to work," he said as though about to choke down a bitter medicine.

* * *

A knock on the door startled Shikamaru awake. He groaned and raised his head from the desk; he had fallen asleep over his scroll, and now the sky outside was dark. Yawning, he pushed himself up from the desk and went to open the door.

Temari stood there, her hair slightly damp, dressed not in her usual black kimono but a silk one with peach and pink flowers on a field of cream. "Did I wake you?" she asked.

"Temari? No—I mean yes, but that's okay. I wasn't supposed to be sleeping." Shikamaru yawned behind his hand. "Um, you look nice."

Temari looked down at her outfit as if to say "This old thing?" and smiled. "Thanks," she said. "I thought I'd put on something comfortable for the evening." She peered over Shikamaru's shoulder at the desk. "Are you busy?"

"Not really," Shikamaru said with a shrug. His status report could wait until tomorrow, and if he tried to continue it, he would probably just fall asleep over it again. "What do you have in mind?"

Temari nodded to the side. "Walk with me. I want to show you something."

"Okay," Shikamaru said, somewhat questioningly, and followed Temari out.

A few minutes later they were standing in front of a large building made of glass. "This is our greenhouse," Temari explained as she opened the door. Hot, moist air wafted out into the dry, cool evening, carrying with it the herbal green smell of leaves, the sweet smell of flowers and fruits. Shikamaru inhaled deeply and followed Temari inside. She shut the door behind them.

It was still almost oppressively hot and humid even though night had fallen. All around was more plant life than Shikamaru had seen in weeks. "This is incredible!" he marveled. "I had no idea this was here."

Temari shrugged. "We have to grow food and herbs somehow," she said. She tugged at Shikamaru's sleeve. "Come. What I want you to see is further back." She disappeared down the path.

Shikamaru had to pass through another door to get to the back of the greenhouse. Here the air was more like the air outside, for this was where the desert plants were kept. He found Temari standing before a tall, spiny cactus bearing a single flower of palest pink.

"It's beautiful," Shikamaru said. The delicate flower seemed so out of place amidst the long, needle-like spines. Its fragrance was light, fruity and spicy.

"It only produces this one blossom, once a year, for one day," Temari explained. "Legend says that if a person gives the flower to their beloved, their love will be as rare and beautiful. But it's forbidden to pick it; they say if you do then the cactus will never bloom again. But if you are determined enough to seek one out, and lucky enough to find one in bloom, if you wait, the blossom will fall and still be as fresh as when it first bloomed." She fell silent. He had never heard her speak so poetically before.

"Do you believe all that?" he asked.

Temari shrugged, her arms folded. "It's a pretty story, but I just think the flower is amazing all by itself." She smiled thoughtfully. "It reminds me that some things are worth waiting for, and some moments you have to slow down and pay attention to catch."

"How did you know it would bloom today?" Shikamaru asked.

"I didn't," Temari admitted. "I just happened to come in here to collect some aloe for a burn salve and saw the flower had begun to open. It's lucky you happen to be here. I wanted to share this with you," she said quietly.

She unfolded her arms; her hand brushed Shikamaru's accidentally. This time, she didn't pull away. Instead of taking her hand, he linked his pinkie finger with hers.

"Thank you for this," Shikamaru said solemnly. Not just for the miracle of the flower, but for this little moment of intimacy, which was just as rare.

Temari giggled. That surprised him almost as much as everything else. "Let's go on back," she said. "If you're falling asleep over your scroll, you probably belong in bed."

"Mine or yours?" Shikamaru teased as they turned. He waited for Temari to release him, but she curled her finger around his tightly and tugged him along. They walked all the way back with that tenuous link holding them together.

"Visit the greenhouse whenever you like," Temari told him as they stood outside his door. "I know you must be homesick."

_No matter where I am, I'm either homesick or lovesick. I don't know which is worse_, Shikamaru thought to himself. "Thank you," he said. They smiled at each other, hesitating to part. "Temari," Shikamaru began.

"Goodnight," she said with a sweet smile, uncurling her pinkie and slipping from his grasp.

Shikamaru waited half an hour before returning to the greenhouse. It was an hour after that when the flower tilted forward and fell into his waiting hand. He lifted it to his nose and inhaled its scent. Its petals were soft against his lips.

* * *

Temari smiled in her sleep. Something smelled wonderful. She peeked through slitted eyelids. On her bedside table was the cactus flower, its petals as lush as if it was still on the plant.

"Shikamaru!" she exclaimed, astonished. Her cheeks flushed as she reached out to take the flower in her hands. As she did, she knocked a small, tightly rolled scrap of paper onto the floor. She leaned over the side of the bed and picked it up. Setting the flower carefully in her lap, Temari unrolled the paper and read:

_A flower of the desert, for the flower of Suna._

Temari lay back upon her pillow, her mouth slightly agape, heart pounding. She began to titter, than giggle almost giddily. She took up the flower again and brought close to her face, inhaling deeply. She let the breath out in a long sigh and grinned.

Temari tucked the note away in a safe place, but she left the flower on her bedside table. Soon the heat of the day would rise and the flower would wilt and wither in the dry air. But there would be others.


	3. Chapter 3 Return of Sasuke

The sun shone brightly as Sakura and Naruto walked through the bustling streets of Konoha, heading for the gate. "Thank you for walking with me," Sakura said. "Tsunade-sama wants me to get the mid-day report of who's been in and out of the village."

"I haven't seen you much the last few days," Naruto said. "I figured I could catch you for a bit between your errands."

"You've been busy too," Sakura pointed out. Naruto hadn't let up his training upon achieving chuunin level; he wanted to catch up to everyone else, so he wouldn't be left behind when all of his friends made jounin. Not only that, but he had taken a lot of missions. The last few days he had barely been in the village at all.

They found Kakashi at the guard house, leaning over the counter to chat with Izumo and Kotetsu. "Oy, Naruto, Sakura," he said.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied.

"Here for the reports, Sakura?" Kotetsu asked. He handed over a sheet of paper. "Not many people have been through today."

"It's such a nice day; people are probably just hanging around relaxing," Sakura said, scanning over the list of names.

"Yeah," Izumo agreed. "I wish I wasn't stuck in the guard house all day." He glanced over at the village gate and started. He jumped to his feet and swiftly pulled out a kunai.

They whirled around to see what was going on, and froze in disbelief. Sasuke was staggering through the village gate.

"Sasuke… kun…" Sakura mumbled, eyes wide, looking at him as though he was a ghost. She never thought she'd lay eyes on him again but there he was.

He was wearing his Sound-ninja uniform, but the bow on the rope belt was unraveled and dragging behind him. The white shirt was stained with blood and dirt. Lacerations and puncture wounds criss-crossed his chest, and one eye was swollen shut. One arm hung limp and useless. Sasuke looked up and opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out. Half of his exposed skin was covered with the markings of the second stage of Orochimaru's cursed seal. It wavered as he struggled to keep it going, as though it was the only thing keeping him alive.

"Sasuke… kun…" Sakura mumbled, eyes wide, looking at him as though he was a ghost. She never thought she'd lay eyes on him again but there he was.

"Sasuke," Naruto echoed, then again, his voice rising in joy, "Sasuke!" He started forward; Kakashi's arm shot out and clamped onto his wrist, stopping him short.

"Wait! It could be a genjutsu!" Kakashi warned. He lifted his forehead protector away from his sharingan eye and scanned over Sasuke. "This has to be a trick," he muttered, but he could see nothing strange. It was Sasuke, almost empty of chakra, the usually pulsating flow weakened to a faint glow.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto demanded.

"It's him," Kakashi said in awe.

Naruto wrenched himself free of Kakashi's grip and ran forward, Sakura following. Sasuke seemed to sigh, and the marks of the cursed seal withdrew, fading from his skin. His knees buckled and he began to collapse forward. Naruto caught him with a grunt. Sasuke's head lolled to the side as he lost consciousness.

"We need to get him to the hospital," Sakura urged, cradling Sasuke's face in her hands, feeding healing energy into him. "I'll try to stabilize him."

"Get a medical team!" Naruto bellowed. Sasuke lay limp as though dead. Naruto's eyes stung. "Hang on, Sasuke, you got this far," Naruto ordered him. "You can save him, right, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm trying, Naruto, but I need to concentrate," Sakura said calmly but firmly. Naruto fell silent, keeping his attention on Sasuke.

His best friend. How many times had Sasuke tried to kill him? How many times had Naruto tried to bring him back? He had lost hope, certain that Orochimaru had used Sasuke already. And here Sasuke was; he had come back on his own. All the other things didn't matter anymore. They were all together again, and things could go back to the way they were, the way they were supposed to be.

If Sasuke survived, that is.

A medical team arrived with a stretcher. "Uchiha Sasuke?" one of the members gasped.

"Stop gawking and get him to the hospital!" Sakura commanded. She looked pale and drained, and she swayed a little as Naruto helped her to her feet. "Let's go," Sakura said. She, Naruto, and Kakashi followed the medical ninja.

* * *

"Wake up," said a voice like the rub of sand between rocks, breaking up and scattering the soft cocoon of sleep Shikamaru had been enjoying. He groaned and pried his eyes open. Kankurou and Gaara stood at the foot of the bed, Kankurou with the best threatening stance he could muster, Gaara with his usual arms-folded, stone-faced intensity.

Shikamaru propped himself up on his elbows and gave a jaw-cracking yawn. "What do you want?" he said flippantly, to hide his surprise.

Kankurou raised a clenched fist. "You forget who you're talking to!" he postured.

Gaara paid this no attention and said, "What are your intentions toward Temari?"

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked innocently while his mind raced. They must have spied them last night in the greenhouse, or saw him sneak into Temari's room. What did they think went on?

"Don't play stupid," Kankurou spat. "We saw the flower in her room. Just what are you playing at?"

"I'm not playing," Shikamaru said. That much was true, at least.

"You didn't pick it, did you?" Gaara asked gravely.

"No," Shikamaru said quickly. "I waited for it to fall, like the legend said."

Surprise flashed across Gaara's face so briefly that Shikamaru thought he must have imagined it. "That's quite a gift," Gaara said.

"Do you love her?" Kankurou demanded.

"How is that your business?" Shikamaru snapped, thinking fondly of the blissful oblivion of five minutes previous and wondering when his life had gotten so damned _troublesome_.

Kankurou seethed. "She's our sister, and she trusts you, and admires you, and for some reason _loves_ you, and if you're just playing around—"

"I already told you, I'm not playing," Shikamaru said irritably. Inside, he was boggling. _Temari loves me?_

"No, you're dead serious, aren't you? You're not an idiot, Nara Shikamaru. If you've heard the legend, you know what a gift like that flower means," Gaara said. "You love her." It wasn't a question.

The good cop/bad cop was wearing on Shikamaru. He decided to spill. "She's amazing, Temari is. Beautiful, smart, tough. I admire her. She's the only woman I can stand to be around, that I _want_ to be around." He tore his gaze from Gaara's impassive face and stared at his feet. "I can't stop thinking about her. I almost died in a sandstorm trying to get here, and the only thing that kept me crawling through this desert wasn't some stupid mission but because I could see her again." He couldn't stop it now, and though it looked like Kankurou wanted to interject, a piercing glare from Gaara shut his older brother's mouth.

"I count the months between chuunin exams, training every chance I get, every day, so I can show Temari a new technique or trick or stratagem when I see her again." He locked eyes with each of the brothers in turn; he wanted them to understand. "All my life I never worked harder than I had to, to squeeze by. But I want her to be proud of me. I want to be worthy of her." Shikamaru fell silent, empty of all he wanted to say. An uncomfortable silence hovered over the room.

Kankurou broke it: "Would you marry her?"

"I'm only fifteen—"

"Come on, like _you_ haven't planned so far ahead," Kankurou needled him.

"Where would you live if you did?" Gaara cut in.

"Konoha," Shikamaru said without thinking.

"You would take her away from her people when they need her so badly?"

"No," Shikamaru backpedaled. "That is… it'd be up to Temari, of course. We'd have to discuss it." Shikamaru broke off. "I never thought of it before."

Kankurou advanced threateningly. "I suggest you think it over, before you let this relationship go any further."

Shikamaru clenched his jaw. "Are you telling me to stay away from her?" he asked, his voice taut.

"If you're not serious," Gaara said, "best to end it before you get Temari's hopes up. Though it might be too late for that now."

Kankurou leaned forward until he was almost nose-to-nose with Shikamaru. "If you break our big sister's heart, we'll kill you," he growled. Shikamaru repressed a shudder. He did _not_ want to face these two, though battle plans were forming in his head unbidden.

There was a knock at the door; it didn't seem to register with the Sand brothers. The door opened. "Shikamaru?" Temari called as she stepped in. She looked displeased to see her brothers. "What are you doing here?" she demanded in a steely voice. Gaara turned to her. Kankurou continued to eye Shikamaru sinisterly. "I couldn't find you anywhere," Temari went on. "There's news from Konoha."

"What is it?" Gaara asked.

"Uchiha Sasuke has returned."

Kankurou's glare dissolved in his amazement. Gaara's detachment was replaced with mild interest. Shikamaru felt pinned to the bed. Sasuke? His mind flashed back to that mission, his first as a team leader, when everyone was almost killed trying to retrieve the wayward shinobi. It was the mission that almost caused Shikamaru to quit life as a ninja, before his father and Temari talked him down from it. And now Sasuke had returned to Konoha?

"Kankurou," Gaara said, breaking the spell. "Stay here in Suna. You and Baki are in charge. Temari, Shikamaru, get packing."

"What?" Kankurou sputtered.

Gaara fixed his gaze on him. "I want to see this for myself," he said. He went to the door. "Come to my office when you're ready." He left. Kankurou gave Shikamaru one more warning look before following. He paused to shake his head at Temari, who looked affronted.

"Coming?" he said. Temari snarled at him and left. The door thudded shut behind him.

Shikamaru confronted a brain full of turmoil and groaned. "I want to go back to sleep," he told the empty room before heaving himself out of bed to pack.

* * *

"Uchiha Sasuke," Tsunade said. She sat in a chair beside Sasuke's hospital bed with one leg crossed over the other, an elbow resting on her knee and her chin propped on her fist. She regarded Sasuke as though considering her next move in a game of shougi.

Sasuke had been under sedation, in an induced coma, for days in Konoha's hospital while doctors siphoned venom from his body, stemmed internal bleeding, and stabilized the rogue ninja. Tsunade herself had barely slept, and neither had Sakura; she insisted on helping, and was denied; prodigy or not, she was only a student. Still, every time Tsunade exited the intensive care unit, Sakura was sitting there in one of the waiting chairs, clutching a slowly wilting bouquet of flowers and staring into space. Tsunade wondered what she was thinking.

She also saw Naruto there, once, trying futilely to comfort Sakura, before giving up and walking away. _He knows_, Tsunade thought sadly to herself, _that the fun is over_. She asked him a few days ago, when he was in her office requesting a mission, how he felt. Naruto gave her a sad smile, and the calmness and maturity she saw in him surprised her. "We're all together again. That's all that matters," he said quietly. Tsunade knew Naruto would give up anything for his friends. Even his girl.

Sasuke was awake, though silent. "We pulled a lot of venom out of you," she began. "Did you have a fight with your master?"

"I killed him," Sasuke said in his quiet, matter-of-fact voice.

Tsunade sat back, her eyebrows arched in surprise. "That's how you escaped him," she surmised. Sasuke nodded. "Why did you return to Konoha? You must know you're in the Bingo Book. You allied with our enemy and threatened the lives of Konoha ninja several times, namely attempting to kill Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade folded her hands. "So why did you come back?"

"I wanted to come home," Sasuke said. He was staring down at his hands. His hair fell over his face, hiding any expression.

"So, have you given up your revenge on Itachi?"

"Yes—" Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

"I don't believe you," Tsunade said coldly.

"—for now," Sasuke amended. "Orochimaru gave me power but it is… dangerous to use."

"We told you that before and you didn't listen," Tsunade snapped. "Naruto is the jinchuuriki your brother is supposed to capture. If you had stayed here and trained, you might have had the opportunity to go up against Itachi, with help from others. That is if you weren't off bargaining with demons and taking dangerous shortcuts."

"You don't understand. You never did, none of you," Sasuke said, quiet but fierce. "Only she..."

"Only who?" Tsunade asked.

Sasuke ignored her and went on, "Ever since the day Itachi killed our parents, I've had this... this burning inside. This hate. I couldn't think about anything else. Revenge was the strongest desire I've ever felt, and the longer I lived without being able to satisfy it, the more I was tortured. It's like scratching an itch; you know you shouldn't, you know it'll only make it worse, but you can't sit there and ignore it and wait for a salve to take it away." Sasuke glared at her. "I was going mad, waiting to get stronger, trying to improve. And meanwhile I knew Itachi was getting better too. I'd never catch up. That's why I left."

"And why did you come back? Why did you really come back?" Tsunade pushed.

Sasuke smirked. "Why Hokage-sama, you sound as though you'd rather I'd stayed away."

Tsunade's eyebrows darted together. "Well, why wouldn't you want to come home, right?" she said. "You have a best friend you can try to kill as many times as you want, and he's still arguing with me that I should let you go free. You have a girl who you can treat with nothing but contempt, can belittle as weak, and she'll still do anything for you, kill for you, let you use her and throw her away, and she'll still be here waiting when you get back." Tsunade's voice rose. "I'm not going to allow you to use Konoha ninja in your private revenge scheme! Especially Sakura."

There was a knock on the door. "What?" Tsunade demanded.

Kakashi poked his head in. "Oh, I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama. I'll come back later." He withdrew.

"No, that's fine, I was finished," Tsunade said. The legs of the chair slid across the linoleum with a screech as she got to her feet. She turned her back on the renegade's bed and marched out of the room. Kakashi slipped in as she passed, before she slammed the door shut. All the cards on Sasuke's bedside table fell over and spread out, some tumbling to the floor.

"How are you feeling?" Kakashi asked, settling himself in the chair Tsunade had just vacated.

"All right," Sasuke replied, his dark eyes boring into Kakashi. "Are you going to ask me why I came back?"

"I have my guesses. It's not important. I'm just wondering how long you'll stay."

Sasuke looked away, focusing on a vase full of half-wilted flowers that stood on the windowsill. Sakura had brought them, while he slept. She hadn't been allowed in, no one had, and Sasuke was glad of that, that she hadn't seen him hooked up to hoses and tubes.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said. Sasuke looked back over; his old sensei had lifted the forehead protector away from his eye, and the Mangekyou Sharingan was staring back at him.

"Hmph. Who'd you have to kill, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked.

"I didn't have to kill anyone," Kakashi replied. "I trained and achieved this on my own. And if you'd stayed, I probably could have trained you to do it as well." His eyes narrowed. "It was never necessary to kill one's best friend. Your brother was a hasty fool. And you turned out no better.

"One of your relatives told me once, 'Those who don't care about their companions are worse than trash'." He settled down, lowered the forehead protector back over his eye. "But it isn't too late. I can teach you, if you stick around." He folded his arms. "Of course, I may not want to, considering how incautious you've been with dangerous power in the past. I shouldn't even have just shown it to you just then. Every time you use the special sight, it wears down your normal sight. Your brother is going blind, Sasuke. He relies on the jutsu too much and it's destroying him."

"Then maybe I shouldn't waste any time, while he's weak," Sasuke said.

"You're still weak too," Kakashi pointed out.

Sasuke glared at him. "Why would you help me in this?"

"Akatsuki is a threat, and your brother is part of Akatsuki. As long as he's roaming free, Naruto is in danger. It just so happens that your desire for revenge can help us neutralize this threat."

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed. "Tsunade was just telling me she wouldn't let me use any Konoha ninja for my 'petty revenge.'"

Kakashi stared at him. "Stick around, and I'll help you convince her otherwise," he said. Sasuke said nothing. Kakashi got to his feet. "Think about it. I'll see you around," he said, and left.

* * *

The Sand siblings pushed hard enough that Shikamaru didn't have breath to speak even if he wanted to. That suited him fine. He was brooding, something he normally didn't bother to do. Temari took notice; on the second day of their trip, when they had left the desert behind and were leaping through the trees, she fell back from her middle position to keep pace beside Shikamaru, who was bringing up the rear. Gaara, so far ahead that he was almost out of sight, didn't notice.

"Hey," she said.

"Hm," Shikamaru muttered.

"You've been quiet," she remarked.

"Saving my breath. Your brother still acts like he's powered by a demon," Shikamaru grunted.

"You're thinking pretty hard, but not about Sasuke."

Shikamaru wondered how she knew that. He didn't say anything.

"What did my little brothers say to you, anyway?" Temari pressed. "Did they threaten you?"

Shikamaru gave a bitter laugh. "Sort of, yeah."

Temari scoffed, "Don't worry about them."

"They asked, if you and I got married, where would we live?" Shikamaru informed her, keeping his eyes stubbornly straight ahead.

"You know," Temari said, "that Suna could use you. Your strategies, your expertise. You said yourself that the three of us are spread thin trying to teach all these kids. You could have a good life in Suna. And the Leaf doesn't need you as badly. Why waste your talent? Imagine what good you could do. The Sand could become a real power again. Our people wouldn't have to live in fear of enemy attack if we had your strategic mind working for us."

"And old men would spit on me in the street."

"They'll get over it," Temari insisted. "Anyhow, if a ninja like you can't defend himself against pissed off old codgers wielding brooms—" Shikamaru laughed then, still bitterly. "What?" Temari demanded.

"Nothing," he said. "It's just that you sound like you're trying to recruit me. Wouldn't that be funny, if—" he broke off.

"If what?" Temari said, her voice icy and sharp, sensing he wasn't heading anywhere good with this.

"You never showed much interest in me until I made chuunin."

"We were enemies until then," Temari said. Then her eyes narrowed as she realized what he was getting at. "You… you think I would feign interest in you, that I would _prostitute_ myself, to poach another village's talented ninja?" she snarled.

"No," Shikamaru said hurriedly. "That's what I was saying, but I don't believe it. Not really."

"Why are you doing this? You're trying to push me away from you, is that it? Because of some stupid thing my brothers said? Look at me!" Temari commanded. Shikamaru obliged, though his eyes were starting to sting and the last thing he needed was to be called a crybaby.

"We'd never see each other," he said.

"We see each other now, don't we?"

"Yeah, twice a year."

"So? In between exams we could take maybe a week, one of us could visit the other. Switch off."

"Okay, so four times a year." Shikamaru looked away. "And meanwhile we'd be married and living a three-days' journey apart."

Temari struggled. "We could split our time. Six months in Suna, six in Konoha. Hell, the kids would probably think it's fun." She realized what she was saying, and exclaimed, "Ack! Why are we trying to figure this all out _now_? We've just started—" she reached toward Shikamaru, reaching for his hand, "—we've just started this thing."

"If we can't figure this out then we might as well end it," Shikamaru said, feeling like someone was pulling barbed wire through his chest.

"What?" Temari recoiled as though slapped. "Because of my stupid baby brothers being all tough and overprotective? I should've strangled them in their cribs," she growled.

"It would free you up to find someone in your own village, someone you wouldn't have to sacrifice for. Someone who'd make you forget about me," Shikamaru went on, digging himself deeper into the dark hole he found himself in. He didn't want to imagine Temari marrying some faceless Sand ninja, showing up for the chuunin exam pregnant with some other man's child, or maybe she wouldn't ever come to Konoha again. Never again would he find himself standing at the village gate at the crack of dawn, waiting for this troublesome woman to saunter down the path. God how he loved the trouble she inflicted upon him; it was the only time his life seemed to get interesting.

And what would he do? Give up on the training; after all, what was the point? He'd teach at the school, stagnate, marry some hometown girl he didn't like or dislike, have some nondescript kids who'd laugh behind his back about their lazy, failure of a father who was only good at shougi and sleeping all day.

"You idiot," Temari said, her voice shaky beneath the anger she was using to mask it. "My strategy was just to see how serious you are," Temari revealed. "I didn't want to make it easy for you. I left you hanging, and you kept chasing. At any point I thought you'd say it was 'too troublesome' and give up." Her eyes pleaded with him. "But this morning I found that flower on my nightstand—"

"That was a mistake. I shouldn't have given that to you," Shikamaru said roughly. _Take a desert flower out of the desert, and it dies,_ he thought. _Take a forest leaf into the desert, it shrivels and dries up. It can't work._

Temari scowled, looked about to say something, or hit him, but instead quickened her pace and shot ahead, leaving him behind. Shikamaru thought he felt raindrops hit his face. But the sky was cloudless.

Last night, cradling the flower carefully in his hands, he had slipped into Temari's bedroom. She lay there, not perfectly composed and peaceful like the princesses in stories, but tangled in her sheets, one arm flung over her face, and her mouth wide open in a rattling snore. He almost started laughing right then, but curbed it so as not to wake her.

Shikamaru had set the flower gently down atop the tiny, rolled-up scrap of paper he had written on. Temari moved then, and he jumped, thinking she was waking up. But instead she shifted and curled up on her side, facing the flower. Her face relaxed and she stopped snoring. Shikamaru wanted to hold vigil, just watching her sleep. He wanted to crawl into bed with her and sleep entwined like they did that night in the cave, when something he hadn't known he was missing clicked itself into place. Instead, he padded out of the room and shut the door quietly behind him before returning to his own bed.

It had been a perfect night, which turned into a perfect nightmare day as soon as he was unceremoniously woken up.

His throat burned and constricted, his lungs struggling for air as though he was caught in his own Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu. He clenched his jaw so tight his teeth ground together. "Damn it!" He was glad he was behind Gaara and Temari, that they were so far ahead that they couldn't hear anything over the rush of wind in their ears, and hoped neither would turn around.

* * *

"So you're a chuunin now," Sasuke said. Naruto beamed.

"Yup!" he said. "And you're still a gennin, unless Orochimaru promoted you."

Sasuke shook his head. "Those rankings don't really mean anything to me anymore."

"You'd probably be a jounin by now anyway," Naruto said. It felt good to talk to Sasuke like this. It was like all the years had washed away and there was no more distance, no more hatred, no more drama, just the two of them talking like best friends, like the way they never were. _The way we should have been_, Naruto thought.

"Shikamaru, Gaara, and Temari arrived today," Naruto said. "Maybe Tsunade will let them visit you. Shikamaru's a chuunin examiner now, and Gaara's kazekage!"

"Really?"  
"Yeah, and—" Naruto leaned in closer, "—Shikamaru and Temari are in _love_. They won't admit it but it's obvious."

Sasuke had to smile a little. Naruto was acting like Ino, all full of gossip. But he let it pass; Naruto thought he was doing Sasuke a favor, catching him up on everything he had missed since he had left. Naruto laughed. "I'm glad you're back," he said.

"You are?" Sasuke replied.

"Of course," Naruto said. He became quiet and solemn. "No matter how many times you hurt me or everyone else, all we wanted was for you to come back. No matter how many times they forbade me, and told me to give it up, and threatened to lock me up to keep me from running off, I kept trying to find you, to drag you back here.

"You're my best friend. I always hoped you'd come back. Even after the three year mark passed, I hoped you'd escaped somehow, that you'd come back." He paused for a long moment. "You know Sakura still talks to you in her sleep?"

"And how would you know what Sakura says in her sleep?" Sasuke asked. Naruto said nothing. "Oh, I see. A lot has changed since I left."

Naruto hurriedly changed the subject, "Kakashi-sensei says you're going to help us go after the remaining Akatsuki."

"Maybe," was all Sasuke would say.

"Don't worry," Naruto said, laying a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "I'll make sure no one kills Itachi but you."

Sasuke studied Naruto's face; it was earnest, open, forgiving. Sasuke expected Naruto to rage at him for all he'd done, for all he'd thrown back in their faces, for always running away. But he didn't; he was simply glad to have Sasuke back, and the rest was forgotten. It was a trait that Sasuke would never understand.

The moment was broken when a nurse poked her head in the room. "Time's up, Mr. Uzumaki," she said. Naruto released Sasuke's shoulder and stood up.

"I'll see you tomorrow maybe," he said. "Get some rest, Sasuke."

"Thanks," Sasuke replied. "And Naruto?" Naruto turned. "I'm sorry. For everything."

Naruto grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. "It's all right," he said, and followed the nurse out.

* * *

"So that's the situation," Tsunade finished. "What do you think, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru was sitting in a chair in front of Tsunade's desk, in his usual thinking posture; forearms resting on his knees, fingers down, fingertips and thumbs together to form a circle. After some time, he opened his eyes.

"Naruto told me," he said, "that after our failed mission years ago, Jiraya told him that if he tried to go after Sasuke again, you'd restrict him to the village and have him tailed by ANBU. Why not try that?"

"I could put him under house arrest," Tsunade suggested.

Shikamaru shook his head. "If you imprison him, he'll only get frustrated. Not only that, but you won't be able to get any work done because of the line of protestors outside your door. Let him have some freedom, and maybe he'll want to stay and cooperate. Keep him locked up, and someone will break him out and he'll be gone again."

Tsunade nodded. "Thank you, Shikamaru." She rested her cheek in her hand, and gave him a sympathetic look. "How did things go in Suna?"

Shikamaru exhaled. "Everything's so much more complicated than I thought," he said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, you mean with the training program," Shikamaru realized. "Uh, well everything so far was pretty much in my last report. I probably need to go back after all of this is done with."

"Don't worry about that, right now, Shikamaru. We'll deal with this mess first," Tsunade said, pouring herself a cup of sake. "Thank you for your help; your analysis has been invaluable." She downed the cup. "Go on and relax for now. Sasuke isn't going anywhere."

Shikamaru heaved himself out of the chair and left the hokage's office. He wanted to sleep, but the last thing he wanted was to go back to his parents' house and be bombarded by questions.

The street was full of people. He edged around them, feeling something was missing. He realized what; it was the first time Temari had been in the village and had not been at his side. Tsunade had summoned him immediately upon their arrival, and brother and sister went to their lodgings.

There was a nice grassy hill, with a single tree for shade, that overlooked the practice field. Shikamaru headed there now. It had been awhile since he'd lain there; usually he was down in the field training instead. As he walked there, he looked up at the sky; it was azure, and the clouds were as puffy as sheep's wool. It was a perfect day for gazing.

Shikamaru had been lying there for maybe an hour when the soothing breeze and lazy clouds lulled him into a shallow sleep. The shadow falling across his face, blocking out the sunlight, was what woke him. Temari, standing above him, looking down with an inscrutable expression.

"Mind if I lay here?" she asked in a quiet, un-Temari-like voice.

"Go ahead," he replied, as though he didn't care about anything anymore.

She settled down with a rustling of grass, inches away from him. "Tsunade-sama told us your plan," she said. "It seems like sound advice."

"Yeah, I guess my village needs me after all," he said bitterly. Temari flinched slightly. Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his eyes. "It's all so—"

"Troublesome," she finished for him. "And when it isn't we make it that way." Shikamaru didn't answer; he stared up at the clouds, trying to pick out recognizable shapes. "You know there's no real reason we should worry about those things my brothers mentioned."

"Why not?"

"Because we're geniuses and we'll figure it all out when the time comes," Temari replied. Then she did something uncharacteristic; she snuggled up to Shikamaru's side, laying her head on his shoulder. He curled his arm around her to keep her there.

Shikamaru gave her a little smile. "What happened to planning five steps ahead?" he asked, turning his head toward her and laying a kiss on her forehead.

"Maybe we plan too much. Maybe we should just live in the moment and see what happens," Temari suggested.

"Those moments that are worth waiting for?"

"That always come back around again." She smiled. "Those are the ones." She kissed him, long and languidly. He held her tightly; how could he have thought of letting her go, of pushing her away?

"It's still a long time between chuunin exams," he murmured, tracing a finger along her eyebrow and down around to her cheek.

"Maybe it's better that way," Temari suggested. "It makes it special. You won't get tired of me, I won't be around nagging you all the time, and you have all that time to come up with new ways to impress me."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Just like the students, eh? Six months to come up with a new technique?"

Temari smiled slyly and pulled herself on top of him. "Why not show me your old techniques first?" she suggested with that smooth aggression that Shikamaru could never resist. He smirked and pulled her down.


	4. Chapter 4 Team Seven

Sasuke dreamt of dying, drained of chakra by the Mangekyou Sharingan, which he had foolishly used without really knowing how. Kakashi had warned him that weapons ill-used could turn upon their masters, but Sasuke was impatient, and his blind brother had seemed so weak and easy to kill. His vision, destroyed by the runaway jutsu, was fading into darkness. "Sakura!" he screamed, reaching out. "SASUKE!" she cried, but Naruto's hand was clamped around her wrist, Naruto was dragging her away, leaving Sasuke to die alone in the dark.

He shot awake, bolt upright and breathing heavy. "Sasuke?" came a timid query from the doorway. Sakura stood there, hesitant. She seemed to steel herself and walked in, shutting the door firmly behind her.

"Sakura," he said, willing himself to calm down, to catch his breath.

She paused beside the bed. They looked at each other, frozen. It was so strange to see him again, like having a loved one come back from the dead. All those old feelings from years ago were beginning to stir up and float to the surface. She felt terrible. Here she and Naruto had gotten together and the moment she saw Sasuke, all she could think about was how gorgeous he had gotten in the last few years, and how being around him used to make her feel.

Sakura had been the one to heal him, when they brought him in. Being that close to him again had made her feel and think some strange things. She remembered the overwhelming urge to smooth her fingers along his brow when she was healing his eye, to kiss his scars.

Even now she was breathless with desire.

"Sakura, I'm sorry," Sasuke said. "I'm sorry I left the way I did. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to take that moment back." She remembered it, vividly, how she confessed everything, and then he was behind her, breathing, _Thank you_ and then the heavy blow and darkness as she fell. It always confused her, and she thought of it often afterward, trying to puzzle it out, why he had thanked her, what he had thanked her for.

"Sasuke—" Sakura began, but he shushed her.

"Let me finish," he said. He took a deep breath. "I wanted to take you with me." Sakura's heart pounded in her ears, deafening her. "But I couldn't. You weren't strong enough, not then. You would have been destroyed, and I couldn't bear that. I had to be cold, to keep you safe, to keep you from following me. But the truth is, Sakura…" he paused. Sakura swallowed. "I love you."

"Don't do this," she pleaded voicelessly. It hurt so much to hear what she had longed to hear for so long. "Don't do this to me. Tsunade warned me you might try. I'm with Naruto now—"

"I know," Sasuke said, voice heavy with bitterness. "He told me. He told me how you talk to me in your sleep." He looked up at her, those dark eyes pinning her where she stood. "What do you say to me, when you sleep?" He took her hand. Sakura gasped. It was like electric fire pouring through her veins, waking everything within her that slept, that slept even during her most passionate moments in Naruto's arms. Just from the warmth of his hand in hers.

"Everything," she replied, trembling. "Anything. You're always there with me, wherever. All the time you were gone, I missed you so much, but I saw you every night when I slept. Even after Naruto and I…" she trailed off. She sank to sit upon the bed. Sasuke drew her close and held her. She didn't resist or protest. "Sasuke-kun," she whispered right before his lips met hers.

"I need more than your help, Sakura," Sasuke said when they drew apart. "I need you."

"I need you too," she said, the most true thing she'd said in a long time. "I never stopped loving you, at all."

Sasuke smiled. Sakura felt blessed by it, that expression that was ever so rare to see on his face. "The real reason I came back," Sasuke revealed, "was for you." His dark eyes threatened to engulf her. "Are you still willing to kill for me?"

Sakura thought she had gotten over all of that long ago, that she had ceased being the stupid girl who had tried to stop him leaving that night, who had cried those clichés that she loved him so much that she'd kill for him. He had left, she had gone on without him, burying those feelings deep, even taking up with another man. Now she stopped resisting and spoke the truth: "Sasuke, I'm willing to _die_ for you." The joy in his eyes then was reward enough for her long suffering. "Tell me what I need to do."

"Help me escape from here," he pleaded. "Come with me, and help me take my revenge on Itachi. Then I finally can rest. Then we can be together."

"Do you promise?"

"I do." He squeezed her tightly; she could feel his heart hammering in his chest, the silken caress of his hair against her cheek. "If I could stop now, I would stay here with you. It's all I want. But I have to finish this thing first."

"I'll do it, anything. Just tell me what I need to do," Sakura said.

It took Naruto a moment to realize what Tsunade was saying, splintering her desk with her fists to punctuate the sentence, that Sasuke had escaped somehow, and had taken Sakura with him. Now she was berating Kakashi for believing that Sasuke would ever stick around to help them with his "genius plan" as she put it, sarcasm spraying from every word, and Kakashi was standing there like a tree in a gale, saying nothing, showing nothing.

That Sasuke had decided to go it alone, again, was no surprise, so what everyone but Naruto was trying to figure out was why he took Sakura with him. Half of them expected to find her not far from the village, ditched by Sasuke like she had been the first time. But Naruto knew better.

Always, in the deepest recesses of his heart, Naruto knew that there was the chance that if Sasuke ever came back, Sakura would leave him, that this was the price he would pay, that he couldn't have his friend and his girl both at the same time. And he'd slowly come to terms with that, and sleeping with Sakura in his arms didn't diminish his desire for Sasuke's return. As it was he was grateful that he'd been with her even as long as he had. It was worth it. And as he saw her turn slowly away from him toward the man who'd always had her heart trapped, Naruto nodded and knew that this was how it was going to be.

But now they were both gone.

Sakura was smart. For her to go with Sasuke willingly, he either put up a damn convincing act or it was something else.

Eventually they'd get around to making a decision, to send someone after them, to drag them back, but Naruto knew that wouldn't work, not last time and not this time, and he wasn't going to wait to hear what they cooked up.

"Where's Naruto?" Tsunade said, too late.

Naruto's eyes burned red, Kyuubi grudgingly lending him power so he could follow their scent, so he could tear through the forest at top speed. He didn't care if they wanted him with them or not, or if they thought he wouldn't want to work with his teammate and his decidedly ex-girlfriend, or if they thought he would be a drag. He didn't care; he'd prove himself to them, and they'd get this thing done together, and then they could return triumphantly to Konoha and get back to the business of normal life again. It was kind of thrilling, really, the idea of Team Seven, the real, original Team Seven, working together again. "Sakura-chan, Sasuke," Naruto said, "I'm on my way."

END


End file.
